


Don't Be Distant

by TimeLadyoftheSith



Series: Prompt Generator Insanity [21]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angsty Doctor is Angsty, Colormayfade Prompt Generator, Domestics, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Tentoo Has Insecurities, feeling neglected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 13:30:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11875521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeLadyoftheSith/pseuds/TimeLadyoftheSith
Summary: Tentoo is having some insecurities about his new life with Rose. Domestic life has settled in, but now he's not so sure of where he stands.





	Don't Be Distant

The Doctor was doing his best to fit into "Pete's World", as Rose and he called it. It had been almost eight months since they were standing on the beach. His identity had been established, thanks to the help of Torchwood and Vitex, as Doctor Jonathan Noble, head of field research and development. The previous head was retiring, and nobody else had passed the test to get the spot. As for maintaining his background, well, all Torchwood employee files were so secure that not even the government had access to them.

Everything had been fine, up until the last month. Something had changed in Rose, and the Doctor wasn't sure what. He didn't like not being sure, because most days he felt very lost and very alone. Coming home to Rose had always helped ease those negative thoughts. Lately, however, she was busy. They came home, had dinner, and then she was buried in her office or hiding behind mounds of paperwork. Sometimes she came to bed when he did. Other times she crawled in well after he was asleep.

The Doctor tried to tell himself that she had a whole life here that he was still learning, and that maybe the newness and thrill of having him back with her had finally melded with that life. Jackie had said Rose was a workaholic for the few years they had been apart, so the Doctor tried to comfort himself with that thought.

"Are you trying to give yourself diabetes, or do you have a super pancreas?" Bryleigh, the friendly brunette assistant for the head of medical research interrupted his musing. She was stirring her own coffee and arching an eyebrow at him.

The Doctor looked down at his coffee, realizing he had just added the tenth teaspoon of sugar. He felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Was distracted." He frowned at his mug and promptly dumped the coffee flavored syrup into the sink and washed it out. Then he refilled it and properly measured out his cream and sugar.

"Better distracted while measuring sugar than some chemical in the lab." She chuckled. "Wanna talk about it?" Bryleigh took a sip of her drink.

"Nothing to talk about." The Doctor shrugged. She wouldn't understand, even though she knew the story. Bryleigh was one of the few people who knew the truth. After all, as human as he was, the prerequisite medical screenings had turned up some quirks: elevated immune system, non-human brain activity, and not to mention organs and bones that were the size of a thirty-five year old man but as fresh and pristine as a new born baby's.

"Liar." She snorted. "My husband gets that same look when there's something upsetting him." She rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter. "The far off, but still stoic and brooding, look of a sad puppy."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to snort. "I do not look like a sad puppy." He drummed his fingers against the ceramic mug. So far he had made a few friends here, but none he knew well enough to consider close. Maybe it was time to start. "How long have you and Mitchell been married?"

"His name is Marshall." Bryleigh laughed, and the Doctor mentally noted that. This body wasn't as quick with names as he had been before. It was a Donna quirk that had carried over. "And four years, but we have been together nine. Why? Having problems with the Missus?"

"Not problems, exactly." The Doctor felt his brow furrow, and he stared down at the brown liquid. "She just seems so distant lately. Working late, engulfed in projects and meetings." He wasn't quite sure how to continue without sounding like he was whining.

"And you're wondering if she actually wants you here or not?" Bryleigh was right on the money. "I can tell you that she does, but I know you won't take my word for it." The woman smiled and patted his arm. "Just talk to her about it. Rose practically lived in her work before you got here. Old habits die hard."

The Doctor nodded, and she seemed to take the hint that he was done talking. Bryleigh scooped up a muffin and wandered out of the executive break-room back to the large conference room where the end of the week briefing was about to start. He scooped up his own banana cream donut, and hurried in to take his own seat.

Rose was at the head of the table, her eyes glued to the touch screen on the tablet propped in front of her, as Pete began the brief. She was throwing slides and charts up on the screen in time to the points Pete was making. The Doctor wanted to pay attention, but he couldn't with the way everyone seemed to be able to get her attention but his. When the meeting drew to a close, one of the other board members, a man named Andrew, was hurrying Rose out to have her look over some files for the defense department.

Fighting back irritation on top of his insecurities, the Doctor hurried to his own office to grab his mobile and keys then headed home. Well, he had been calling it home. Lately the spacious two story house on the outskirts of the city didn't seem as warm and inviting as it had before.

He grumbled to himself as he threw together a cold sandwich and headed up to the balcony outside their bedroom. It was a clear night, and there was supposed to be a meteor shower. The Doctor wanted to think before he confronted Rose about these thoughts. He had learned early on that this body had the combined tempers of both his other self and Donna, as well as their combined ability to hurl harsh words when upset. Thinking before speaking was something he was desperately working on.

The Doctor had been standing at the railing, looking up at the stars for nearly an hour, when a warm arm fingers closed over the ones gripping the metal. "Hello Doctor." Rose's voice was soft and gentle, and her head snuggled against his arm.

Biting back and urge to shrug her off and treat her as distantly as she had been treating him, the Doctor tightened his fingers on the rail and looked studiously upwards. It was the first time since they met, both in Henriks and when he came bursting out to attack Davros, that the Doctor couldn't meet Rose's face. Almost as if she could sense he was upset, her fingers dropped to the rail beside his. From the corner of his eye, he saw her look up at the meteors blazing overhead.

The silence was tangible. More palpable than it had been over the last week combined. The frustration gradually melted away to insecurities once more, as the breeze picked up and surrounded him with her perfume. Finally, the Doctor spoke. His throat was tight, afraid of the answer he'd receive, only allowed a whisper. "Do you still enjoy being with me?" He still couldn't meet her eyes, settling for the stars overhead.

Rose's fingers closed around his cheek and tugged against his skin until the Doctor finally met her honey eyes with his own. She was smiling at him gently, and her fingers uncurled to deliver a soft, delicate slap to his cheek. It didn't hurt in the least bit, but before the Doctor could react, her other fingers closed on his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss.

The doubts ebbed away as her soft lips pressed against his for a moment, and then she whispered. "There is nobody in the multi-verse that I'd rather be with than you, my Doctor."

"Nobody?" He let the implications hang in the almost nonexistent space between their lips. His own secret worry that he'd harbored since she'd kissed him on the beach.

Rose pulled back enough to cup his face in her hands and shake her head. "Not a single person." Her thumbs trailed over his sideburns, sending pleasant warmth down his neck. "What's all this about?"

"It's stupid." The Doctor closed his eyes and pulled her to him for a hug. He knew he was being too foolish to ever imagine she was sick of him. That was another Donna trait he had apparently acquired, insecurity.

Rose snuggled into his chest and dropped her hands to wrap them around his waist. "Tell me." She murmured into his shirt.

"You've been so busy." The Doctor kissed the top of her head and sighed. "I can't seem to get a moment alone with you when you're awake." He felt her tense in his arms for a moment, but then she shook her head and tilted her it back to look up at him again.

"I'm sorry." Her fingers stroked along his spine through his shirt. "Come with me." Rose stepped out of his arms to take his hand, and the Doctor followed her through the glass doors into their bedroom.

They lay together, fingers entwined or exchanging soft caresses, and talked into the night. They talked about the past, reliving old memories and unspoken thoughts that had not been shared about those days. They mused about the present, and caught up on things that should have been said over the last few weeks. Then they whispered about the future, what it would hold, what this new and continuous adventure would hold for them.

When sleep tugged heavy on their eyes, and their gaps in sentences grew longer, the Doctor pressed another kiss to her hair. "I love you, Rose Tyler."

"I love you, Doctor." Rose murmured against his neck. Then she moved her lips to his ear, as he turned off the lamp. "I chose you, and I'd choose you all over again."

The Doctor pulled their blanket up over their bodies and smiled into the dark. For the first time since the Time War, he slept in peace.

 

 

 


End file.
